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Understanding Politics

The course 'Understanding Politics' aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Political Science, focusing on the interpretation of politics through various ideological lenses and the central role of the state. Students will explore key concepts such as the distinction between nation and state, theories of democracy, and the impact of media on political communication. The course includes multiple units covering foundational topics, theories, and relevant readings to enhance students' critical engagement with political concepts.

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141 views2 pages

Understanding Politics

The course 'Understanding Politics' aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of Political Science, focusing on the interpretation of politics through various ideological lenses and the central role of the state. Students will explore key concepts such as the distinction between nation and state, theories of democracy, and the impact of media on political communication. The course includes multiple units covering foundational topics, theories, and relevant readings to enhance students' critical engagement with political concepts.

Uploaded by

bilionsdebbarma2005
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Semester – I

Major Discipline Specific Courses (core)

Course – 1

Understanding Politics

Total Credits: 04

Classes per week: 05 (@45 minutes per class)

Course Objective: This course is designed to develop a sound understanding of Political


Science with the different meaning of politics and how is it interpreted differently by people
holding different ideological positions. The critical engagements with ideologies will allow the
students to develop their own understanding of politics. Since the state occupies a central
position in the discourses on politics, the understanding of different theories on the state will
allow the students to understand the role of the state in the society and how it governs and
regulate the power structure. Media and civil society are the drivers of the politics as they
perform a communication role, important for information and ideology transmission.

Learning Outcomes:

a. The students would be able to explain different approaches to politics and build their own
understanding of politics.
b. They will be able to answer why the state plays so much central place in the discourses on
politics.
c. They will be able to make a distinction between nation and state.
d. They will come to know about different theories on nationalism.
e. Students would be able to answer what are social movements and make a distinction between
the old and new social movements.

Unit-I: Introduction to Politics

a. What is Politics?
b. Different Approaches to Understand Politics

Unit-II: Centrality of State

a. What is State? Why State Occupies Central Position in Discussion of Politics?


b. Theories of State
c. Ideologies and Understanding of State
d. Changing Role of State in the Era of Globalization?
Unit-III: State and Nation

a. How State is different from Nation?


b. Debates in Nation and Nationalism

Unit-IV: Democracy and Social Movements

a. Theories of Democracy
b. Social Movements

UNIT-V: Political Communication and Mass Media

a. Political Communication
b. Role of Mass media

Readings:

 Heywood, A. (2004). Political Theory - An Introduction, (3rd ed.). Basingstoke:


Palgrave.
 Bhargava, R., & Acharya, A. (Eds.). (2008) Political Theory: An Introduction. New
Delhi: Pearson Longman.
 Harding, A. (1994). The Origins of the Concept of the State, History of Political Thought,
15(1), pp. 57-72. 
 Held, D. (1989). Political Theory and the Modem State. Cambridge: Polity Press.
 Heywood, A. (2002). The State. In Politics. New York: Palgrave, pp. 85-102.
 Laski, H. J. (1935). The State in Theory and Practice. London: George Allen & Unwin
 Newton, K., & Deth, J. (2010). The Development of the Modern State. In Foundations of
Comparative Politics: Democracies of the Modern World. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, pp. 13-33.
 Dahl, R. A. (1991). Democracy and its Critics. New Delhi: Orient Longman.
 Macpherson, C. B. (1973). Democratic Theory: Essays in Retrieval. Oxford: Clarendon
Press.
 Shah, G. (Ed.). (2002). Social Movements and the State. New Delhi: Sage Publication.

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